Operation Lifesaver Unveils Safety Training Module for School Bus Drivers

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 27, 2005 -- Decide Smart, Arrive Safe, a training module to teach drivers how to prevent collisions between their school buses and trains, will be launched this week by Operation Lifesaver, a national, non-profit safety education program. The DVD and training materials are being introduced as the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) and National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) each open their conventions here.

Operation Lifesaver issues this advanced safety training program for school bus drivers at the time of the 10th anniversary of one of the worst school bus-train crashes in U.S. history -- Fox River Grove, Illinois. Seven students were killed and 26 injured on October 25, 1995, when a commuter train hit the back end of a school bus as it waited at a red light in front of the crossing.

"Our goal is to make it easier for school bus drivers to make the smart decision when they come up to a railroad crossing," said Gerri Hall, President, Operation Lifesaver. "We all want America's children to have the opportunity to go to school and come home again safely every day."

The DVD and training manuals feature a "Five Alive Drill" and other tools for instructors to use while they train new and update current drivers. The "Five Alive Drill" recommends that drivers approaching railroad tracks take the following steps:

    * Slow down and obey all warning signs and signals.
    * Silence extraneous noises.  Alert the students on your bus for
      silence, and turn off the radio and fan.
    * Stop no closer than 15 feet from the crossing and open the driver
      window and right hand door.  Carefully look in both directions and
      listen for a train.
    * Do a double take.  Check both directions again!
    * Go -- once you start driving across the tracks, do not stop or
      hesitate.

Operation Lifesaver's DVD and training module illustrate these five steps showing actual school bus drivers on regular routes. "Real Incidents," one element of the DVD, shows the consequences when these safety precautions are neglected. This segment focuses on specific school bus-train incidents at Fox River Grove (Illinois), Buffalo (Montana) and Conasauga (Tennessee). A post- training quiz is also provided to allow drivers to reinforce and reiterate what they've learned during training.

In several states, notably North Carolina, Oregon, and Idaho (where their State Directors of Pupil Transportation were closely involved with the program), many school bus drivers have already seen the new video. In Michigan, pupil transportation contractor Dean Transportation worked with Operation Lifesaver to train 400 supervisors and used the new video in training drivers. Additionally, the video was tested in selected school bus driver safety presentations in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The new training materials supplement the video, Decide Smart, Arrive Safe, and provide instructors with a one-hour safety training program that can be expanded if time allows. NASDPTS, whose members direct individual state efforts to train and prepare drivers, advised Operation Lifesaver in the development of the video and the training materials.

"We are particularly delighted to unveil this safety program for school bus drivers in Texas," said Hall. "School bus drivers here are trained at 20 Texas Education Service Centers, where Texas Operation Lifesaver is working with the Department of Public Safety to help train and certify instructors."

About Operation Lifesaver

Operation Lifesaver Inc. began in 1972 as a six-week experiment in Idaho. Cecil Andrus, governor at the time, the Peace Officers' Association (law enforcement) and representatives from the school bus industry and the railroads together developed a plan to reduce vehicle-train collisions in their state by making safety presentations to at-risk groups. They experienced a 40% reduction in incidents and the program continues to this day. By 1986 Operation Lifesaver grew to include every state, except Hawaii. The District of Columbia started a program in 2002. Today, programs based on the Operation Lifesaver format are operating in Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, Estonia, and Argentina. To learn more, contact us at http://www.oli.org/.

  Contacts:

  Marmie T. Edwards, APR
  703.851.0492 (cell)
  800.537.6224 (messages)

  Carol P. Steckbeck
  517.437.7595
  csteckbeck@sbcglobal.net